Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will meet the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss increasing support for charities and other advice agencies to ensure that they are able to assist people in completing all disability benefit application forms.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is important that all of our claimants are able to access our services and that they do not face obstacles in applying. The Department can provide support, including help filling in the application form or the questionnaire where accessibility requirements would call for that.
The Department does not provide any funding support for charities or other advice agencies to support them in the completion of forms for the disability benefits: Attendance Allowance; Disability Living Allowance; and Personal Independence Payment. The Department does however undertake a wide variety of engagement with representatives from various charities and welfare rights organisations in order to share information and updates and to ensure the systems work as effectively as possible to support people with disabilities and long-term health conditions.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a disability element to universal credit to replace disability premiums.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Universal Credit does not replicate the premiums of the legacy benefits system, and this has allowed us to target additional support to a wider group of claimants, while streamlining the system. This was a conscious policy decision from the outset, and by doing this we have increased provision for the most severely disabled.
The Universal Credit rate for the most severely disabled people (the Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity addition) is more than double the equivalent rate for the Employment and Support Allowance support group.
The Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity addition is £336.20 a month compared to the Employment & Support Allowance Support Group rate of £167.05.
On Universal Credit, more people who are severely disabled will receive higher payments, with around 1 million disabled households gaining on average around £100 more per month on Universal Credit than on legacy benefits.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to simplify the forms used to claim benefits.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to ensuring its claim forms are as simple and easy to use as possible. We have simplified over 180 forms in the last six months by making changes to the layout, style, wording and accessibility. We carry out usability testing on new and revised forms with claimants.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of reinstating the employment and support allowance and universal credit work-related activity component.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No such assessment of merits has been made. There are no plans to reinstate the change to the Employment and Support Allowance work-related activity component and the Universal Credit limited capability for work element.
As part of the Personal Support Package which was announced in the ‘Improving Lives’ Green Paper in October 2016, we committed to a £330m package of support over 4 years for claimants affected by the removal of the Work Related Activity component.
The Department believes that this change will provide the right incentives and support to help new claimants with limited capability for work.
In 2019/20 we are spending £55 billion on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions. Furthermore, real terms disability benefits spending will be higher every year to 2023 than in 2010.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to work with medical practitioners to improve the quality of medical evidence for benefits claimants.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In response to the Work and Pensions Select Committee report on Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance assessments, published on 14 February 2018, the Department is currently working with the Assessment Providers and external stakeholders, such as NHS England, to improve healthcare professionals’ knowledge and understanding of medical evidence requirements for DWP benefits purposes.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the carer's allowance and for it to be paid for each person the carer is responsible for.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The primary purpose of Carer’s Allowance is to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person. It is not, and was never intended to be, a carer’s wage or a payment for the services of caring. It is also not intended to replace lost or forgone earnings in their entirety.
A National Insurance Class 1 credit is generally awarded for each week that Carer’s Allowance is paid to a working age carer. Class 1 credits can help towards the conditions of entitlement to all contributory benefits, as well as the new State Pension. In addition to Carer’s Allowance, carers on low incomes can claim income-related benefits, such as Universal Credit and Pension Credit.
The Government recognises the invaluable contribution that unpaid and family carers make in all our communities, and is committed to doing more to support them. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) published a Carers Action Plan in June 2018 setting out plans around support for carers, and in addition to this, carers will be a fundamental part of DHSC’s upcoming Green Paper. A sustainable settlement for social care will simply not be possible without focussing on how our society supports carers. The Government has committed to publishing the Green Paper at the earliest opportunity setting out its proposals for reform.
Carers who provide professional caring services to multiple severely disabled people do so as a means of employment and are paid accordingly rather than relying on carers benefits.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps she has taken to ensure that older people receive the financial support they are entitled to.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that older people receive the support they are entitled to and the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they make a claim for State Pension or report a change in their circumstances.
The DWP uses a wide range of channels including information on https://gov.uk/, in leaflets and by telephone to communicate information to potential customers about benefits, such as Pension Credit. Anyone wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling 0800 99 1234 and DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.
Pension Credit is an important benefit specifically intended to help the poorest pensioners and there are over 1.6m pensioners already claiming over £5billion but we want to ensure that everyone eligible can claim what they are entitled to. One of the best ways to reach eligible customers is through trusted stakeholder working in the community and we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit
The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.
Most recently we have provided to relevant organisations a fact sheet about Pension Credit and forthcoming changes for couples to ensure that accurate information is available in the places where people are most likely to seek it.
Finally, the Government’s commitment to the triple lock has meant that the full basic State Pension is now worth around £1600 a year more (in cash terms) than it was in 2010 and significantly, the majority of people of pension age in receipt of a State Pension or another social security benefit receive their annual winter fuel payment automatically without the need to make a claim.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps her Department has taken to increase public understanding of invisible disabilities.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
On Tuesday 25 June, the Government launched a new cross-government approach on disability which is guided by a vision that recognises the contributions that disabled people make and where disabled people can participate fully in society. To drive forward this approach, government will establish a new cross-departmental disability team in the Cabinet Office, and the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) will be incorporated into the team. This move recognises that disabled people, including those with hidden disabilities, face barriers across the life course and a wide range of aspects of their lives and coordinated cross-government action is therefore vital.
The British Standards Institution, and others involved in supporting the “Grace’s Sign” campaign, are currently exploring the potential for developing a symbol for hidden disabilities. The project is in an early scoping phase, but its intended aim is that the symbol would be recognised by the International Organization for Standardization. Achieving this involves a multi-stage process, which can take time, but if successful, greatly enhances the chances of its sustained future use in public signage. If successful, greater use and public acceptance of such a symbol would increase awareness of hidden disabilities, and help promote an understanding of the possible access and support needs of people with hidden disabilities.
Various Sector Champions appointed by the Minister for Disabled People are working within their sectors to support all disabled people, raise awareness of their needs and drive improvements in how these are met. Examples relating to hidden disabilities include: railway franchises thinking about supporting people with a wider range of disabilities, including through quiet areas at stations; a lanyard to identify those with hidden disabilities at airports, with staff trained to recognise this and offer help; and within the retail sector, many large stores holding quiet hours (no music and dimmed lighting) to improve the shopping experience for those with some hidden disabilities (such as autism or ADHD).
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing local housing allowance to the 30th percentile point for current market rents in each size category of dwelling.
Answered by Will Quince
There are no current plans to extend or maintain the Benefit Freeze after March 2020. Specific decisions on how to uprate the Local Housing Allowance from April 2020 will form part of the discussions in support of fiscal events later this year.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she is taking steps to ensure that pension companies declare investments in the fossil-fuel industry; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises that climate change is a key national and international issue we have made sure that pension schemes understand their role responding to its effects. In September 2018, following extensive consultation with the pensions industry, this Government laid regulations (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pension-trustees-clarifying-and-strengthening-investment-duties) to clarify and strengthen trustees’ investment duties, including taking account of the financial risks of climate change when developing their investment strategies. There has been extensive stakeholder engagement since. The regulations come into force from October this year.
Defined contribution occupational pension schemes will be required to publish their policy on consideration of climate risks by October 2019, with most defined benefit schemes being required to follow suit by October 2020.
The FCA are consulting on corresponding provisions for workplace personal pension schemes. As the Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion I have spoken extensively about the new requirements and the Government expectations of pension schemes, including at the Westminster Hall debate regarding Pension Funds: Financial and Ethical Investments on the 22 May 2019:
“For too long there has been a perception by too many trustees -I am happy to clarify this as a Government Minister- that the environmental practices of the firms they invest in are purely ethical concerns, which they do not need to worry about: that is utterly wrong. Aside from the ethical considerations, there are real financial risks resulting from climate change. With the long-term horizons of pension investing, trustees must now consider that when they set out their investment strategies. Trustees who do not consider those matters will be breaching their statutory and potentially their fiduciary duties not only to current but future members.”
The full debate can be viewed here:
The Government is very keen to support trustees in making responsible investment decisions.